The Treasures Left Behind
by All The Umbrellas In London
Summary: The Doctor shows Amy the altaria mists of Daragon, and reminds her that's never alone and that it's the things we leave behind that truly matter.


_Featuring the Doctor and Amy as played by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan._

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_**A**s she descended the stairs from the main corridor into the control room, Amy realised that she was alone. Her limbs felt heavy, and her eyes were sore; she was exhausted, had been for weeks now. Non-stop running for her life had taken its toll on her. Still, as she stepped onto the clear deck, there was no sign of the Doctor at all.

She hadn't seen all of the TARDIS yet, but this was still her favourite room; the very heart of a vessel that confounded her imagination with its size and complexity, the room was cavernous, dominated by the six-sided console in the centre and the massive time rotor that reached up to the ceiling high above. The orange walls glowed with an almost mystic inner light, punctuated by evenly spaced roundels. From where she stood, she could see right past the console, over the Doctor's favourite chair, down the steps to the decking that led to the outer doors.

"Hello?" she called. The air was a little chilly, but nothing too unusual.

There was always something about the console room when the TARDIS was at rest, something quiet and stately. The way her voice echoed when she spoke into the silence just compounded the notion. It was like standing in a cathedral, a quiet and holy space, and Amy felt the need to be careful that she not disturb a single speck of dust.

"Doctor?" she walked towards the console, but there still was no answer. The TARDIS seemed fine, but there was really no way for her to know; the console was a jumble of equipment bolted into place.

Everything from taps to a typewriter to a telephone to an endless array of buttons and knobs and levers, only a few of which she knew the names for, and none of which she could properly use. The TARDIS was a magical machine, and it had taken her through time and space, but she still had absolutely no idea how the infernal thing worked.

It was bigger on the inside than the outside and the Doctor could operate it. That's all she really knew, and all she felt she really needed to know.

Of course, that didn't change the fact that she was now alone in here.

"Doctor?" she shouted again, rounding the console. She found herself staring at the monitor, its unintelligible Gallifreyan characters spinning slowly. "Come out space boy, this isn't funny!"

The image on the monitor shifted, and English letters began to flick across the screen. Amy frowned, leaning in closer, but they were going too fast for her to properly figure out.

As quickly as they'd appeared, the letters suddenly resolved into words.

COME OUTSIDE, POND.

Amy's eyes widened. "What?"

COME OUTSIDE.

The letters pulsed silently, as though waiting for her. Swallowing, she turned towards the doors of the TARDIS. They'd taken on the appearance of the interior of the TARDIS' exterior; Amy wasn't positive how it worked, but the Doctor had told her that the ship's chameleon circuit, or something, was permanently stuck in the form of a Police Box from the fifties.

Why did he always have to be so hard to figure out? She rolled her eyes as she crossed the control room. She passed the hatstand the Doctor inexplicably kept right next to the door, and shoved it open.

She almost screamed when she saw the Doctor just standing there, suspended in utter blackness, his psychic paper in one hand and his sonic screwdriver in the other. Her eyes adjusted a second later, and she laughed. He was floating atop clouds that were changing colour slowly; they looked black at first, but she could see them merge from gold to blue to red. The harder she looked, the more colours she could make out.

"Well, come on out, Pond!" he called. His voice echoed strangely.

Amy grinned, and, pushing up the sleeves of her jumper, she took a step out of the TARDIS. She was expecting to stand on something solid, but it felt like stepping onto a waterbed.

"Woah!" she cried, about to topple when the Doctor grabbed her arm and steadied her. Looking around, she said "What is this place?"

"The altaria mists of Daragon," the Doctor explained.

"Yes," Amy said, grinning. "Daragon."

"Odd little planet, quite a history to it. Holy wars, crusades, nuclear winters, civil wars, and every time the Daragonians pulled through, until they were almost wiped out by an alien invasion. United as a people, they drove out their invaders, and then they created these mists, stuck them in orbit of their world. They were meant to create a glorious sky on the planet below, and also a shield, to protect them from other invaders," the Doctor explained. He grinned. "Look up."

Amy did, and saw herself staring at the most beautiful starscape she'd ever seen. "Are we in space?"

"May as well be," the Doctor agreed. "Anyway, they sealed themselves behind their shielding mists, and their species prospered beneath, and eventually died out. Down there now is something like a nature park. A whole planet, growing once more into a vibrant expression of life."

"That's a bit of a sad story, though, isn't it, Doctor?" Amy asked, still looking up into the heavens. "I mean, they all died out."

"A bit of a sad story. But I just wanted to show you, Amy Pond, that the beautiful things that people create can last for a long time after they're gone, treasures always left behind for other people to see."

Amy looked at him sideways. "Like Vincent?"

The Doctor nodded and smiled. "Like Vincent."

He reached over and took her hand.

"So, can I see Earth from here?" Amy asked, swallowing away the lump that had suddenly gathered in her throat.

The Doctor examined the constellations glimmering above. "No, I'm afraid not, but by this time the human race is out among the stars. Exploring, searching, colonising, and not in a bad way. Spreading their wings and flying through space. Still a bit barbaric at this point, but not too bad."

"Barbaric?"

"Oh, the things early space travel does to the fabric of the universe," the Doctor shrugged. "Poor universe. And a few minor things like slavery."

"Slavery?" Amy echoed, horrified.

"Yeah, but don't worry. Cleared that right up. Or, at least, I will. Have done…" the Doctor trailed off. "Tenses get jumbled. I'm not exactly sure when we are. So maybe I've done it. Maybe I'm about to."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Right."

Sighing, she rested against the Doctor. "Do I show you the best things, Amy Pond, or do I show you the best things?"

"You show me the best things, Doctor," Amy agreed. Looking up into the heavens, she chose one star glimmering particularly brightly. "So what's up with that one?"

The Doctor shrugged, straightening his tweed jacket and adjusting his bowtie. "Dunno. Shall we find out?"


End file.
